For when just ‘Liking’ won’t do, now there’s the ‘Big Like’

In Ancient Rome, applause was society’s system of public approval. Audiences would clap to signal how much they enjoyed a theater performance. Likewise, a politician’s approval rating was embodied in the clapping of the audience when he entered an arena.

Today, we have the Like, the favorite, the retweet. But what if you really like something? In Rome, the method, volume and speed of a clap indicated degree of approval. Facebook Likes, on the other hand, are without such nuance.

Seeking to give social networks another level of meaning, Facebook has introduced the “Big Like.” Now if you really like something, you can “Big Like” it. In the social network’s latest update of its Messenger app for iOS and Android devices, users can press and hold the “Like” button to send an even bigger thumbs up sign.

The ‘Like’ may have become a meaningless metric of social approval, but, like a thunderous applause, if you’re willing to hold down the “Like” button for a couple extra seconds, you must really like it.